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en2016 - VOA60Fri, 09 Dec 2016 23:08:04 -0500Pangea CMS – VOATrump Taps Branstad to Manage Complex Relations With ChinaIn the black-and-white photo from 1985, Chinese President Xi Jinping, then a young official from China's northern Hebei province, stood next to Terry Branstad, who was serving his first term as governor of Iowa. The photo was taken during Xi's first visit to the Unites States during a sister-state exchange program.
Three decades later, Branstad has been nominated to be the next American Ambassador to China by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a choice that Beijing has quickly embraced.
"He successfully developed close trade ties with China while serving as chief executive of the Hawkeye State," Trump praised Branstad in a statement Wednesday. "That experience will serve him well as he represents America's interests and further develops a mutually beneficial relationship with Chinese leadership."
Xi, in a message last year congratulating Branstad on becoming the longest-serving governor in American history, said he was impressed by Branstad's "warmth, hospitality, sincerity and friendliness."
"I have known President Xi Jinping for many years and consider him an old friend," Branstad said Wednesday after accepting the position. "I look forward to building on our long friendship to cultivate and strengthen the relationship between our two countries and to benefit our economy."
Branstad was one of the earliest Republican supporters of Trump's presidential campaign.
Experts said having the ears of top leaders from both the U.S. and China is a plus to effectively manage the critical relations between the two countries.
Personal relationship
"Xi Jinping has a kitchen style cabinet, and it's very difficult to know what's going on in his mind," Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.
"So if the U.S. ambassador has a personal relationship with Xi Jinping, that can be very, very helpful," Glaser told VOA.
In Washington, the State Department declined direct comment on the selection announced Wednesday by the Trump transition team.
"They are obviously in the process of looking at the relations to some of the key countries and governments around the world," deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said. "As to their intentions, or as to their goals, I'd have to refer you to them."
Branstad is among the first U.S. diplomatic envoys to other nations tapped by Trump.
"It is certainly the counterpoint to the Taiwan phone call," Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Robert Manning told VOA in explaining the timing of the announcement. He was referring to Trump's phone conversation with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last Friday.
Branstad’s appointment were well-received by some of the U.S. industrial leaders.
'Leading advocate for trade'
Paul Schickler, president of Dupont Pioneer, said Branstad would bring “strong existing relationships with China at multiple levels and experience as a leading advocate for trade.”
“These strengths will benefit international commerce and help further advance China’s goal of modernizing its agricultural industry,” Schickler said. Dupont Pioneer is a large seed company that develops and produces high-yielding crop.
Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, said this nomination is “good for our industry, good for agriculture and good for rural America.”
But as ambassador, Branstad would also find himself in the middle of an increasingly tense relationship amid U.S.-China trade disputes, and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Trump has pledged to use tough trade tactics with Beijing and stop China from "stealing American jobs." He also said he would declare China as a currency manipulator and impose heavy duties on Chinese goods to protect American workers.
“For manufacturers, China stands as one of our largest trade and investment partners, but it is also a major challenge, imposing a range of market-distorting policies and practices that impact manufacturers in the United States,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement.
"I think one of the biggest challenges [facing Branstad] is that China's industrial policies and things like the nongovernmental organization law make it very difficult for U.S. firms to operate in China," Manning, a former State Department official, said.
Foreign NGO law
The controversial law managing the operation of foreign nongovernment organizations may also affect American civil society organizations and their Chinese partners to operate in China, according to critics.
"China's assertiveness in the South China Sea will also make it more difficult to establish a relationship that's more cooperative than competitive," Manning added.
Congressional members and human rights advocates called on Branstad to address thorny issues, including promoting fundamental freedom and rights.
Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey told VOA Mandarin there is strong support for a “robust and serious human rights engagement with China.”
Speaking after a bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) hearing Wednesday that examined the human rights situation in China, Smith said there should be sanctions in place to punish Chinese human rights violations, which include forced abortions and religious prosecution.
Democratic Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota, Iowa’s neighboring state, told VOA that in addition to human rights, issues such as genetically modified organisms and trade are “deeply concerning to us in the Midwest.”
Pastor Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, a nonprofit Christian human rights organization, said he hoped Branstad’s appointment could “set up a new course” in addressing imminent issues, including the protection of rights defenders and labor activists in China, and not “kowtow” to China’s economic power.
Iowa farm products
China is a crucial export market for the Midwestern state of Iowa, which is a major producer of pigs, soybeans and corn.
Branstad is no stranger to the U.S.-China Governors Forum, which has gathered regularly for years to promote practical cooperation between American and Chinese leaders from states and provinces.
Since leading his first delegation to Hebei Province in 1984, Branstad has led six trade missions to China as Iowa governor and met with numerous provincial governors, ministerial leaders and local officials.
Mandarin Service reporters Teng Xu, Beibei Su contributed to this article.
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-taps-branstad-manage-complex-relations-china/3627804.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-taps-branstad-manage-complex-relations-china/3627804.htmlWed, 07 Dec 2016 19:30:45 -0500USA2016 USA Voteswebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)Trump-Tsai Call Reflects Views of Trump Advisers Urging Toughness With ChinaA U.S. Republican party foreign policy aide arrived in Taiwan Tuesday morning for a week-long visit, which might include a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, after she congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a phone call last Friday.
The call, made by Tsai, was seen as a reflection of the Trump advisors’ hawkish view that Washington should pursue its relations with Beijing from a “position through strength.”
It was November of 1987 when Stephan Yates, then a Mormon missionary, first arrived in Taiwan. He used to have to ride buses for many hours between major cities, including Changhwa and Kaohsiung, where he spent almost two years.
Three decades later, much has changed. Modernized infrastructure and high-rise buildings are seen everywhere, along with high-speed rail that makes transportation much easier. Not to mention the matured Taiwan democracy where several peaceful shifts in power from one party to another have taken place.
Respect for Taiwan
“If mainland China wants to establish a good relationship with the people of Taiwan, they must respect the political reform and democratization of Taiwan with the example of President-elect Trump,” Yates, now the chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, told VOA Tuesday.
Keeping it low-key, Yates said he is not carrying any message to Tsai on behalf of Trump.
Getting tough with Beijing
While Trump’s conversation with Tsai has brought solemn protest from China, the call reflects the views of Yates and many other hard-line Republican advisers, who urge Trump to openly take a tough stand against China.
Officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke with U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus to lodge an objection last Saturday.
‘One China’ policy still in effect
In Washington, the State Department said the call did not undermine the current U.S. “One China" policy.
“By establishing this 'One China' policy, it’s allowed us to develop closer relations with Beijing and also to deepen our unofficial ties with Taipei,” said deputy spokesperson Mark Toner Monday. “So in our estimation, it’s been a productive policy to pursue given Beijing’s very serious concerns in this case.”
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has never renounced the use of military force to bring the island under Beijing's control. The United States broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979.
In the 1979 U.S.-China Joint Communique, the U.S. recognized Beijing as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.
Meeting with Trump aides in NY
Taiwanese media reports indicated Tsai plans to transit through New York on her visit to Nicaragua in early January before Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20. News reports said Tsai might not meet with Trump in person but was planning to meet with Trump’s close aides.
The State Department said on Monday it would handle Tsai’s transit with proper protocol, with consideration of “the safety, comfort, and convenience for the travelers.”
Trump message to Beijing
Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher from California said the call sent a diplomatic warning to China. Rohrabacher was reportedly a potential candidate to be the next Secretary of State.
“He [Trump] showed the dictators in Beijing that he is not a pushover,” Rohrabacher told the Fox News television network on Monday morning, adding “China has had an enormously aggressive foreign policy.”
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, who also emerged as a contender to be the next top U.S. diplomat, said it was time to shake up U.S.-China relations, noting China’s “aggressive and belligerent claims” in the South China Sea.
Trump transition team economic advisor Peter Navarro and the Trump camp’s defense advisor, Alexander Gray, called Taiwan a “beacon of democracy in Asia,” and said it is “perhaps the most militarily vulnerable U.S. partner anywhere in the world.”
Both advocated for comprehensive U.S. arms sales to Taiwan to deter “China’s covetous gaze,” and fulfill the U.S. commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Obama Asia Pivot
Both advisors said the so-called Asia Pivot policy has been a failure under President Barack Obama and has invited Chinese aggression in the East and South China Seas, according to an article published by Foreign Policy magazine in early November.
Expectations too high?
But some regional experts voiced deep concern.
“It will likely raise expectations in Taiwan of a pending shift in the U.S. ‘One China’ policy that is not likely to be forthcoming. Beijing will probably seek to exact a price from the new Trump administration and will be deeply mistrustful of him and his new team,” said Bonnie Glaser who is director of the China Power project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The U.S. should strengthen ties with Taiwan, but in a substantive rather than a symbolic way. Let's negotiate a free trade agreement with Taiwan, and encourage other countries to do so as well,” Glaser added.
There are also others in Trump's cabinet who have been supporters of upgrading Taiwan's status.
Georgia Republican congressman Tom Price, picked by Trump to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services, sponsored a congressional bill in September to give a greenlight to high-level Taiwanese officials to meet with State Department officials.
The so-called Taiwan Travel Act states "it should be the U.S. policy to permit high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the United States under respect conditions and to meet with U.S. officials, including officials from the Department of State and the Department of Defense. "
It also advocates an upgrade of Taiwan's quasi-official representation, the so-called Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) to conduct official business in the United States.
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-tsai-call-reflects-views-of-trump-advisers-urging-toughness-with-china/3624694.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-tsai-call-reflects-views-of-trump-advisers-urging-toughness-with-china/3624694.htmlTue, 06 Dec 2016 02:15:56 -0500USAAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-tsai-call-reflects-views-of-trump-advisers-urging-toughness-with-china/3624694.html#relatedInfoContainerChina Lodges Objection to Trump's Call With TaiwanChina said Saturday it has lodged an objection to the telephone conversation U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had with Taiwan's first female president Tsai Ing-wen.
"We have already made solemn representations about it to the relevant U.S. side," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It must be pointed out that there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory."
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has never renounced the use of military force to bring the island under Beijing's control. The U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979.
Trump brushed off criticism of breaking diplomatic protocol, responding in a message on his Twitter account, saying, "The president of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency."
Later, Trump said on Twitter "interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call."
Trump's phone conversation with the president of Taiwan was roundly seen as an unconventional move that could risk raising tensions with China.
The call is believed to be the first such contact between a U.S. president or president-elect and a Taiwanese leader since the United States broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
In the phone call, Tsai expressed her hope that the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan’s participation and contribution in international issues, according to a statement released late Friday by Taiwan’s Presidential Office.
“They also exchanged views on the regional situation in Asia, as well as the future relationship between Taiwan and the United States. The president [Tsai] looks forward to strengthening bilateral contacts and to closer cooperation,” said Taiwan's government.
Trump’s spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said the president-elect is “well aware” of what U.S. policy has been on Taiwan.
“President-elect Trump is fully briefed and fully knowledgeable about these issues on an ongoing basis, regardless of who is on the other end of the phone,” Conway told CNN Friday.
Tsai speaks perfect English and no interpreter was needed in the call that lasted more than 10 minutes.
Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee and Tsai’s National Security Advisor, Joseph Wu, were present during the call as well.
White House, State Department
The White House was not told about the call until after it happened, a senior administration official told The New York Times.
It said, however, there was "no change" to the United States' longstanding "one China" policy after Trump's discussion with Tsai.
"We remain firmly committed to our 'one China' policy," Ned Price, a national security spokesman for President Barack Obama, told Reuters. "Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations."
The State Department declined to comment if it was notified or asked to brief the transition team on current U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan prior to the phone call.
“Our job is to offer support whether that’s in terms of facilitation, translation, or context, which we have done and will continue to do,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby on Friday.
“But the degree to which it’s utilized is really for the transition team to decide, and it’s really more appropriate for them to speak to," Kirby added.
Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee who was named by Trump as White House chief of staff, met with Tsai last October while leading a Republican delegation to Taiwan.
A game changer?
Experts said the conversation between Trump and Tsai shows a clear break with the so-called pivot to Asia and could be a “game-changer.”
“While one phone call certainly can’t replace a clear strategy for Asia or the rest of the world, President-elect Trump has shown guts in shaking up the status-quo on foreign policy issues that are of supreme importance,” Harry Kazianis, director of the Center for the National Interest Defense Studies, said.
John Bolton, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during former president George H.W. Bush’s administration, met with Trump Friday.
Bolton, who emerged as a contender for the next secretary of state, had advocated for “an upgrade” of Taiwan’s relations with the U.S.
“The new U.S. administration could start with receiving Taiwanese diplomats officially at the State Department; upgrading the status of U.S. representation in Taipei from a private 'institute' to an official diplomatic mission; inviting Taiwan’s president to travel officially to America; allowing the most senior U.S. officials to visit Taiwan to transact government business; and ultimately restoring full diplomatic recognition,” according to a commentary article Bolton wrote for the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
Trump priorities
Trump also talked by phone Friday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
He also promised to have most of his Cabinet posts filled by the coming week, calling his nominees "tremendous people."
The president-elect made the statement in an interview aired on Fox News Friday, a day after naming Marine Corps General James Mattis as defense secretary, an appointment that will be made formal on Monday.
Meanwhile, Vice President-elect Mike Pence was quoted Friday in a Wall Street Journal article as saying the Trump administration will focus on illegal immigration, abolishing and replacing Obamacare (the Afordable Care Act - health care reform signed into law during the Obama administration), strengthening the military and filling the vacant post on the nation's Supreme Court.
"Washington, D.C., is going to get an awful lot done in a short period of time," Pence told the Journal.
New York security costs
Also Friday, two members of the New York City Council began an online petition, asking Trump to provide federal funds to reimburse the city for the increased security costs -- $1 million a day -- to protect his family.
Trump lives - and his transition team is working out of - Trump Towers in Manhattan.
"We ask you to commit the necessary federal funds to reimburse New York for all costs of protecting you and your family, both before and after your inauguration as president of the United States of America," the petition said.
Police have used barricades and dump trucks filled with sand to help fortify the area around Trump's building.
The city has estimated, according to the petition, that the cost of security at the New York residence could reach $4 billion by the end of a four-year term.
Bill Ide in Beijing contributed to this report.
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-speaks-to-taiwan-president/3621120.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-speaks-to-taiwan-president/3621120.htmlFri, 02 Dec 2016 18:30:05 -0500USAAsia2016 USA Voteswebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-speaks-to-taiwan-president/3621120.html#relatedInfoContainerUS Pursuing Yemen Peace After Fragile Truce ExpiresThe United States "is working very hard" to have the cessation of hostilities remain in place after a fragile cease-fire in Yemen expired Monday.
“I think it's definitely something the Secretary [of State John Kerry] is still pursuing. And I would tell you that he had a conversation this morning with the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia as well as Foreign Minister [Adel] al-Jubeir about this issue," said State Department spokesman John Kirby on Monday.
A 48-hour cease-fire after nearly two years of war in Yemen expired at midday Monday and would not be renewed, according to a spokesman for a Saudi-led military coalition.
Kerry also spoke to United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Monday.
The top U.S. diplomat is committed to a sustained cessation of hostilities in Yemen so that humanitarian aid can get to people and the political talks can resume, said the State Department.
The peace deal was announced unilaterally by the Saudi coalition but failed to halt fighting across the country between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-led forces, which intervened on the side of the exiled government in March 2015.
"The Houthi's have gained a commanding position on the ground, and they are not likely to negotiate away their gains. Given the sectarian issues at play, neither the Saudi-led coalition nor Iran is prepared to see its proxies defeated," American University's international peace and conflict resolution program director Hrach Gregorian told VOA.
The 20-month conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than three million civilians.
http://www.voanews.com/a/yemen-cease-fire-john-kerry-saudi-arabia/3606600.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/yemen-cease-fire-john-kerry-saudi-arabia/3606600.htmlMon, 21 Nov 2016 21:21:34 -0500Middle EastUSAwebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/yemen-cease-fire-john-kerry-saudi-arabia/3606600.html#relatedInfoContainerUS Intensifies Colombia De-mining Efforts After Peace DealThe United States is doubling down on aid programs for de-mining efforts in Colombia, a country that has the second most unexploded ordnance next to Afghanistan since 1990, as its government is making peace with the largest guerrilla rebel group after a decades-long conflict.
According to the latest "To Walk the Earth in Safety" report, which chronicles the U.S. government's efforts to rid the world of land mines, the U.S. has "provided more than $2.6 billion in assistance in more than 95 countries for Conventional Weapons Destruction programs."
Among the most notable of global de-mining initiatives is in Colombia, where the government reached a peace deal with the Marxist FARC rebel group in September. The deal was rejected in a plebiscite last month, but the two sides agreed upon a revised deal last weekend.
Washington has pledged an additional $46 million since September to support efforts to rid Colombia of land mines. That amount is more than what had been invested over the past five years.
From 2001 through 2015, the U.S. invested more than $43.2 million to support conventional weapons destruction in Colombia, including clearance, risk education and survivor assistance programs.
Efforts fall short
But critics said Washington could do more to clean up land mines, cluster munitions and other highly explosive ordnance in many countries where its military inflicted damage.
While "the United States' contribution to clearing minefields is world-leading and very valuable," said Jeff Abramson from Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, "the pace of mine clearance is not sufficient to meet the global goal of a mine-free world by 2025" — a goal declared by the Mine Ban Treaty members.
Abramson told VOA on Thursday that there are still "some 60 states with land mine contamination and 31 states with significant numbers of land mine survivors who have a right to assistance."
The Mine Ban Treaty, adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, is a legally binding international agreement that bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It also places obligations on countries to clear affected areas, assist victims and destroy stockpiles.
The U.S. is not a state party of the Mine Ban Treaty, but has been participating as an observer in meetings for years.
"The U.S. must finally join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and destroy all of its stocks of the weapon," Human Rights Watch Arms Division director Steve Goose told VOA, if it "truly wants to be a global leader on the land mine issue."
Goose added that "helping to clean up the contamination is not enough. The U.S. should work to prevent and should condemn any use of antipersonnel mines by anyone."
Meeting set in Chile
A senior U.S. official told VOA on Thursday that Washington would attend the 15th Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Santiago, Chile, from November 28 to December 1.
The meeting is set to reaffirm commitment for completion of mine clearance and other treaty obligations by 2025.
While the U.S. stopped the export, production and acquisition of antipersonnel land mines, it still retains land mines for use on the Korean Peninsula, where the U.S. military is required to help defend South Korea against provocation from North Korea.
In Asia, 2015 marked a milestone in progress for the destruction of conventional weapons, when the government of Laos issued a commitment to conduct a national unexploded ordnance survey.
The majority of Laos' 17 provinces are contaminated with unexploded ordnance; most are of U.S. origin.
When President Barack Obama visited Laos in September, he announced $90 million in funding for a national survey of unexploded ordnance and for clearance efforts.
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-intensifies-colombia-de-mining-efforts-after-peace-deal/3601384.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-intensifies-colombia-de-mining-efforts-after-peace-deal/3601384.htmlThu, 17 Nov 2016 16:58:53 -0500USAAmericaswebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/us-intensifies-colombia-de-mining-efforts-after-peace-deal/3601384.html#relatedInfoContainerEnd to Yemen War Could Soon Be Reality U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a cease-fire in Yemen could start as early as November 17, "provided that everybody does their part."
Yemen's armed Houthi movement and a Saudi-led military alliance have agreed to support a solution for the conflict in Yemen based on the framework laid out to establish a new Yemeni national unity government by the end of the year.
An Omani road map, based on an initiative by Kerry, calls for Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to hand power to a less divisive deputy in exchange for the Houthis withdrawing from Yemen's main cities.
Kerry spoke Tuesday at the end of a visit to the United Arab Emirates and said he is very hopeful the agreement will come together. He added the talks have "a potential to be a real turning point."
The Yemeni government said on Tuesday that it was not interested in the cease-fire and unity government announcement.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said on his Twitter page that his government was neither aware of nor interested in "what Secretary Kerry announced, which represents a desire to scuttle peace efforts by trying to reach an agreement with the Houthis apart from the government."
"We have been in touch with Hadi," a senior U.S. government official told VOA on the condition he not be named.
Kerry said that "there's a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.There's serious security and economic and political and humanitarian challenges and our sense is, and most of the parties we talked to, agree, in fact all the parties we talked to agree that there's no military solution.So, if that is the fact, then you've got to get into what is the political solution."
Peace deal doubted
Regional experts painted a more pessimistic view.
"Unfortunately, I have little expectation the peace deal will last," said Hrach Gregorian, American University's international peace and conflict resolution program director.
"I don't know that the regime of President Hadi has any remaining political legitimacy or the capacity to govern, so any deal that is struck will need to address the issue of effective post-war governance," Gregorian told VOA Tuesday.
He added the peace deal "is simply a short break for all stakeholders to catch their breath, and to allow for the international community to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid. The Houthis have gained a commanding position on the ground, and they are not likely to negotiate away their gains."
Kerry also said he had a "very constructive discussion" with Yusuf bin Alawi, the minister responsible for foreign affairs, before also talking about the bloody and desperate situation in neighboring Yemen with Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The absolute monarch and Kerry discussed the importance of peace talks and getting a framework in place. In the past, neither side was willing to stop fighting.
Health services needed
The U.S. official said the Houthis agreed "for the first time publicly" to send representatives to a de-escalation and coordinating committee and to "accept the road map including the sequencing that is in the road map presented by the envoy as a basis for negotiations."
The conflict in Yemen in the past 20 months has killed an estimated 10,000 people and millions are in need of food with starvation setting in, according to the United Nations.
The majority of Yemen's 27 million people are also in urgent need of health services and the country is at risk for a significant cholera outbreak, say U.N. agencies.
"Thus far, the emirates and the Saudis I talked to...they have both agreed to move forward with this. They believe it makes sense," Kerry added.
http://www.voanews.com/a/end-to-yemen-war-could-soon-be-reality-/3596548.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/end-to-yemen-war-could-soon-be-reality-/3596548.htmlTue, 15 Nov 2016 15:14:31 -0500Middle Eastwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Herman, Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/end-to-yemen-war-could-soon-be-reality-/3596548.html#relatedInfoContainerTrump Expected to Make Dramatic Changes in US Foreign, Trade PolicyCounterterrorism, Russian aggression and an assertive China will be among the new president's pressing issues.http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-expected-make-dramatic-changes-united-states-foreign-trade-policy/3589835.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-expected-make-dramatic-changes-united-states-foreign-trade-policy/3589835.htmlWed, 09 Nov 2016 18:09:00 -0500USA2016 USA Voteswebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)US Aims to Aid Philippines, Demands Human Rights Concerns Be AddressedThe U.S. is committed to assisting the Philippines with its law enforcement efforts, but also wants to make sure that Manila is committed to its human rights obligations, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday.
"Our assistance programs are designed to address human rights concerns by expanding Philippine capacity to conduct effective, lawful investigations, and professionalizing the criminal justice system so that it's more accountable, transparent, effective and just," said spokesman John Kirby.
Reuters news agency quotes congressional sources who say the State Department paused its planned sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines' national police after Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, expressed opposition because of reported extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the Philippines.
Kirby neither confirmed nor denied the status of the reported weapons sale.
While the department is "committed to working closely with members of Congress to deliver security assistance to allies," Kirby said, it is "restricted under federal regulations from commenting on the status of commercial export license approvals of proposed commercial defense sales."
Under direct commercial sales, the U.S. company sends a request to the State Department's Bureau of Political and Military Affairs after negotiating a proposed sale with a foreign government. The U.S. government, in consultation with Congress, needs to approve the sale before it can be completed.
The Philippine National Police said Manila has yet to be notified about the rifle sale being stopped. It also expressed readiness to look for another supplier of the same type of assault rifles.
Philippine police and vigilantes have killed at least 3,600 people for drug use and drug sales since President Rodrigo Duterte took office at the end of June.
Duterte's promise to aggressively target drug dealers and criminals has gained large support.
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-philippines-law-enforcement-aid-human-rights/3575563.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-philippines-law-enforcement-aid-human-rights/3575563.htmlTue, 01 Nov 2016 21:04:39 -0400USAAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/us-philippines-law-enforcement-aid-human-rights/3575563.html#relatedInfoContainerUS Deeply Concerned by Turkey's Increased Pressure on Opposition MediaThe United States is “deeply concerned” by what appears to be an increase in official pressure on opposition media outlets in Turkey after Monday's detention of senior staff from Cumhuriyet, "one of Turkey's most respected newspapers."
“We encourage the government of Turkey to ensure that the rule of law and fundamental freedoms are protected,” said State Department spokesperson John Kirby during Monday’s briefing, adding “democracy becomes stronger by allowing diverse expression of views, particularly in difficult times.”
While Washington supported Ankara’s efforts to locate those responsible for the failed coup attempt on July 15, the shuttering of more news outlets and the detention of additional journalists over the weekend was worrying, said the State Department.
Media outlets shut down
The detention of Cumhuriyet’s editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and other senior staff followed the removal of more than 10,000 civil servants, the academics, teachers and health workers on Saturday. More than a dozen media outlets were also shut down over the weekend.
A senior U.S. official told a small group of media on Monday that in the longer term, the development over the weekend is “more concerning” because of “the insertion of the president into the selection process for all of the rectors of the universities in Turkey.”
Those detained were accused of violating Turkey’s anti-terror law and providing support to the Kurdish rebel group, or followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The U.S.-based Gulen was blamed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government for orchestrating the coup attempt. Gulen has denied any involvement.
Compared to 9/11 attacks
That senior official, who wished not to be named, said the coup to many Turkish people was like the September 11 terrorist attacks (in the U.S.).
He said Erdogan’s government is “less responsive” than it has been at other times to Washington’s concerns and calls for press freedom and fundamental rights, partly because of “the suspicion in Turkish society and government” due to Gulen’s continuing presence in the U.S.
Turkey’s crackdown against civil servants and media outlets after the coup has alarmed Western allies and rights groups who fear Erdogan is using this to crush dissent.
According to human rights groups, more than 100 journalists have been jailed since July’s failed coup and the introduction of emergency rule.
http://www.voanews.com/a/3573624.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/3573624.htmlMon, 31 Oct 2016 19:38:32 -0400Middle EastUSAEuropewebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/3573624.html#relatedInfoContainerLand Mine Survivors, Clearers Honored at State DepartmentWhen Labibah Abdo Saif was 9 years old, she stepped on a land mine while walking to school in Yemen. She lost her right leg and part of her right arm, and she had horrible facial injuries. Her family members were forced to sell all of their belongings to pay for her medical care. She was flown to Italy for treatment of her facial injuries.
Refusing to give up and overcoming enormous obstacles, Labibah now works for the Yemeni Association of Landmine Survivors and the Ministry of Social Affairs to help others.
Alvin Madjesty is not just a dog — he is also a lifesaver. Since 2011, he and his handler, Lance Corporal Nawarathne, have cleared 70,000 square meters of mine-affected land in Sri Lanka.
Labibah, Alvin and Lance were among those honored Wednesday by the Marshall Legacy Institute, a nonprofit organization that partners with the State Department to help war-torn countries and to eliminate destabilizing effect of land mines.
Far fewer incidents
As recently as 15 years ago, land mines and explosive remnants of war killed or injured nearly 10,000 men, women and children every year. But that figure has "dropped by more than 60 percent" after concerted efforts by nations and nongovernmental organizations, said David McKeeby, spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
According to the State Department, the United States is the world's largest financial supporter of efforts to clear unexploded ordnance and land mines. It has contributed more than $2.6 billion to more than 95 countries since 1993 to reduce the harmful worldwide effects of at-risk, illicitly trafficked and indiscriminately used conventional weapons of war.
While the U.S. stopped the export, production and acquisition of antipersonnel land mines, it still retains land mines for use on the Korean Peninsula, where Washington is required for the defense of South Korea against North Korea.
But critics said Washington could do more to clean up land mines, cluster munitions and other highly explosive ordnance in many countries where its military inflicted damage.
Quicker action sought
The U.S. should "more quickly destroy its land mine stockpile and remove the last policy hurdles in order to allow U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty," said Firoz Alizada of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines-Cluster Munition Coalition in Geneva.
The Mine Ban Treaty, adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, is a legally binding international agreement that bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It also places obligations on countries to clear affected areas, assist victims and destroy stockpiles.
The U.S. has participated as an observer in meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty for years, and it has pledged to eventually join the treaty. Advocates have called on President Barack Obama to insist that the Pentagon study into alternatives be completed swiftly so that the Korea exception can be removed before he leaves office.
Alizada told VOA on Thursday that countries would gather to discuss progress and challenges in implementing the treaty next month in Chile, and to reaffirm the goal of completing mine clearance by 2025.
Yemen is among the war-torn countries that have been contaminated with land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) because of various violent conflicts since 1962, including a civil war in 1994 and persistent clashes between tribal actors and the government. The current conflict between Houthi rebels and the Sunni-led government has also complicated de-mining efforts.
Conflict in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's land mine and UXO contamination is a result of more than three decades of armed conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which campaigned to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for the Tamil people.
The government of Sri Lanka has announced its goal to be mine-impact-free by 2020.
When Obama visited Laos in September, he announced $90 million in funding for a national survey of unexploded ordnance and for clearance efforts.
The U.S. and Norway also raised $107 million for de-mining in Colombia during the margins of U.N. General Assembly meetings in September.
http://www.voanews.com/a/land-mine-survivors-clearers-honored-state-department/3568985.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/land-mine-survivors-clearers-honored-state-department/3568985.htmlThu, 27 Oct 2016 16:38:26 -0400USAAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/land-mine-survivors-clearers-honored-state-department/3568985.html#relatedInfoContainerKerry Praises Kuwait for Curbing Flights From North KoreaCalling North Korea leader Kim Jong Un’s regime “illegal and illegitimate,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday thanked the government of Kuwait for “efforts to help counter the proliferation” of North Korea.
Kuwait has "recently taken steps to curb flights and to make sure that revenues from workers are not sustaining an illegal and illegitimate regime in North Korea,” Kerry said.
The top U.S. diplomat was meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah for the first bilateral Strategic Dialogue between the two nations.
North Korea’s state airline, Air Koryo, has been operating frequent flights between Pyongyang and Kuwait City since 2011. But according to FlightRadar24, a live flight tracker, Air Koryo has altered its route between Pyongyang and Kuwait City to include a transit stop at Urumqi, China, this August.
The reduction of Air Koryo’s landing privileges at foreign airports is among the tools of a diplomatic campaign to enforce the United Nations Security Council’s punitive resolutions against North Korea’s nuclear provocation, according to the State Department.
Kuwait’s economic relations with North Korea and Pyongyang’s exports of guest workers to work on construction projects in Kuwait City provide essential remittance revenues for Pyongyang’s struggling economy.
As one of the sources for North Korea’s economic lifeline, Kuwait is under increasing international pressure. The U.S. has raised concerns with other governments about the use of workers from North Korea in their countries, which "generates significant revenue for the government," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
Those reveneues may "enable" Pyongyang’s nuclear program, Kirby said during Friday’s briefing.
Washington has long-standing concerns “about how to curtail DPRK's nuclear ballistic-missile proliferation programs through efforts of comprehensive and sustained pressure by the international community,” Kirby added.
http://www.voanews.com/a/kerry-praises-kuwait-for-curbing-flights-from-north-korea/3562112.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/kerry-praises-kuwait-for-curbing-flights-from-north-korea/3562112.htmlSat, 22 Oct 2016 13:09:56 -0400Middle EastUSAwebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)Leaked Clinton Email Suggests Gulf Allies' Support for ISForeign policy experts and analysts say they are perplexed by a hacked email in which Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to accuse the Saudi and Qatari governments of providing logistical and financial support to Islamic State extremists.
The accusation is one among thousands of messages that were stolen from the personal email of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and released on the Wikileaks website.
The lengthy message is dated Aug. 17, 2014, and comes from the email address "hrod17@clintonemail.com." It begins with a note saying "Sources include Western intelligence, US intelligence and sources in the region" and comprises a broad policy discussion of how to deal with Middle East terrorism.
It says in part, "We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region." ISIL is an acronym used by the U.S. government for Islamic State.
Clinton's presidential campaign did not respond to several attempts and requests by VOA to verify the authenticity of the emails released by WikiLeaks.
More specificity
While Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies, or individuals close to their governments, have long been suspected of financing extremist groups in the region, this accusation is more specific than anything uttered publicly by the Obama administration. It also is bewildering to terrorism experts, however, including some in the U.S. intelligence community, who say they never have seen evidence of direct Saudi or Qatari support for IS.
"I have myself [during my term] never seen intelligence from the United States government that says the Saudi government, the government, is giving any help of any kind, any material assistance, any financial assistance, to a terrorist group," former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told VOA on Wednesday.
Ford added, "However, there is a lot of information about Saudi private individuals, including charities, and particular business people, as well as others in the Gulf, private citizens, who have provided help."
He said that he was not convinced the leaked emails were "genuine," and that he could not "speculate" on the motivation behind the leak.
Washington has viewed the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar as strong partners in the Gulf area for regional security and counterterrorism efforts, and it has argued that terrorist financing comes from wealthy individuals, rather than governments.
"I think we've seen over the past 10 years a huge shift in the Saudis' approach to terrorist financing. And I really do regard them as our number one partner in the Gulf in our efforts against terrorist financing," Daniel Glaser, assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing, said last Thursday in a webcast from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
In a statement to VOA on Wednesday, the Saudi Embassy said "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not comment on leaked documents. However, any claims that the Saudi government funds Daesh [IS] are preposterous and simply defy logic."
The statement used an alternative name for Islamic State terrorist group.
According to the State Department's annual Country Reports on Terrorism, issued this June, both the Saudi and Qatari governments are members of a regional financial action task force that combats terrorist financing.
'Appropriate' to review
A former senior congressional staff member, though, who wished not to be named, argued that a policy review on the Gulf allies would be "appropriate."
One of the tools that could be used to accomplish this is that Congress could authorize the president through legislation to designate a country as a "Jurisdiction of Terrorism Financing Concern." That designation triggers a menu of penalties and provides the president with additional leverage to pressure foreign governments that are failing to shut down terrorist financiers and facilitators.
"The Saudis and Qataris know very well the suspicion of their intentions and their actions exists in the U.S.," Middle East Institute scholar Daniel Serwer told VOA, adding that Washington has yet to "reach any definitive conclusion" about how to stabilize the situation and reduce the level of violence, given a policy that "has not been stupendously successful" in the Middle East.
While expressing concerns about Wikileaks, the State Department declined to comment on the veracity of the leaked documents.
"What I can tell you is that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are members of the counter-ISIL coalition and have been contributing members of that coalition pretty much since its founding," said spokesman John Kirby in a recent briefing.
Kirby added, "We rely a great deal on their efforts to help us counter terrorism in the region," particularly the Islamic State militants.
In October 2014, Vice President Joe Biden once apologized to regional allies after bluntly expressing concerns about their role in the rise of the Islamic State militant group in a speech at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
"The Saudis, the Emirates, et cetera," said Biden, "what were they doing? They were so determined to take down [Syrian President Bashar al-]Assad, and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad — except that the people who were being supplied, [they] were al-Nusra, and al-Qaida, and the extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world."
These policies ended up helping militants linked to al-Qaida and ultimately IS, according to Biden.
Bilateral tension
Glaser's praise for Saudi Arabia as the number one U.S. partner in combating terrorist financing came at a time of serious strain between Washington and Riyadh over other issues.
The U.S. is reviewing its support for the monarchy after the Saudi bombing of civilians at a funeral in Yemen.
Moreover, the U.S. Congress has voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
http://www.voanews.com/a/leaked-clinton-email-suggests-gulf-allies-support-islamic-state/3559945.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/leaked-clinton-email-suggests-gulf-allies-support-islamic-state/3559945.htmlThu, 20 Oct 2016 18:58:25 -0400Middle EastUSAwebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/leaked-clinton-email-suggests-gulf-allies-support-islamic-state/3559945.html#relatedInfoContainerColombian Defeat of Peace Deal Not Expected to Affect US Aid PlansThe U.S. plan to send millions of dollars in aid to Colombia next year is not expected to be affected by Sunday's surprising defeat at the polls of a peace plan intended to end 52 years of civil war.
"There is no discussion at this point within the [U.S.] government" about American assistance to Colombia, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday in response to a VOA query. "Our hope is that the peace accord will go forward with national support."
Congress is expected to approve $400 million in development aid and about $50 million in counter-narcotics assistance for Colombia for fiscal 2017. In years past, the U.S. spent billions of dollars in military aid to help the Colombian government combat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and bring it to the negotiating table.
Colombian officials have been meeting in Cuba with FARC representatives to try to save the peace deal that voters narrowly rejected Sunday.
Cease-fire extension
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he was extending a cease-fire agreement with the rebels until October 31, in the hope negotiators can find a way to salvage the peace agreement, which both sides signed last week.
"Time is very important. We can't prolong this process and this dialogue for a long time because we're in a gray zone, a sort of limbo, that is risky and can wash away the entire process," Santos said.
FARC senior leader Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, known as Timochenko, was skeptical about extension of the cease-fire until the end of the month. "And after that, the war continues?" the rebel leader asked on Twitter.
The senior U.S. official who spoke to VOA said FARC leaders have "made it clear they want the peace process to continue, and they want to negotiate a settlement to the war."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has "urgently" dispatched special representative Jean Arnault to try to assist the consultations in Cuba. The U.S. special envoy for the Colombian peace process, Bernie Aronson, also is in Havana.
Santos and FARC's Timochenko signed the peace agreement on September 26 in Cartagena, at a ceremony attended by Ban, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and a number of heads of government and foreign ministers.
Meeting with Uribe
In addition to resuming negotiations with the rebels, Santos met with former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who led the opposition campaign against the peace deal. Uribe told a Colombian radio station he was willing to provide input on a way forward to peace with FARC and an end to the country's half-century of conflict.
Colombians voted down the peace deal 50.2 percent to 49.7 percent, a margin of 54,000 ballots. Earlier polls had forecast approval by a 2-to-1 margin.
"Colombia is still a divided nation," said Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez, a native of Bogota who is a program assistant at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs policy research group in Washington.
In a posting Wednesday on the council's website, Jiménez said the country is polarized because "many Colombians don't think that the FARC should be allowed to participate in politics. They believe that criminals should be in jail and not in government."
The guerrilla war began as a simple peasant uprising in 1964, but since then it has killed more than 220,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
FARC used drug trafficking as a major source of funding, and the militants kidnapped politicians and foreigners, holding them hostage in remote jungle hideouts.
VOA's Steve Herman contributed to this report.
http://www.voanews.com/a/colombian-vote-affect-united-states-assistance/3538536.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/colombian-vote-affect-united-states-assistance/3538536.htmlWed, 05 Oct 2016 19:45:01 -0400USAAmericaswebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/colombian-vote-affect-united-states-assistance/3538536.html#relatedInfoContainerUS: Philippine President's Remarks Referencing Hitler 'Troubling'The United States called "troubling" Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's comments likening himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and said they marked a "significant departure" from the core value in human dignity shared between Washington and Manila.
Duterte said he would be "happy" to kill 3 million drug users and criminals as one way to "finish the problem" earlier.
"Words matter, especially when they are from leaders of sovereign nations," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said Friday, adding Washington was "deeply concerned" about reports of Manila's extrajudicial killings.
Toner said America's long partnership with the Philippines "has been based on a mutual foundation of shared values, and that includes our shared belief in human rights and human dignity."
Duterte, who has asked the Senate for an extension of his war on drugs, previously said human rights investigations would not stop him from continuing to crack down on addicts.
"Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now, there are 3 million drug addicts. … I'd be happy to slaughter them," Duterte said in Davao City after an official visit to Vietnam.
He said critics had portrayed him as a "cousin" of the Nazi leader. Duterte added that if Germany had Hitler, then the Philippines would have him.
"You know my victims. I would like [them] to be all criminals and to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition," he said.
During the speech, Duterte said the United States and Europe could call him anything, but he was never "into hypocrisy like you," referring to countries that turn back Syrian refugees.
"You close your doors. It's wintertime. There are migrants escaping from the Middle East. You allow them to rot and you're worried about the death of about 1,000 or 2,000 or 3,000?" he asked.
Duterte took office June 30 after winning a presidential election in May. He has vowed to end corruption and drug abuse in the country of 100 million people.
Reports say that since Duterte took office, more than 3,000 people have been killed by police and vigilantes for alleged drug use or peddling.
http://www.voanews.com/a/duterte-invokes-hitler-in-defense-of-killing-drug-users-pushers-in-philippines/3531370.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/duterte-invokes-hitler-in-defense-of-killing-drug-users-pushers-in-philippines/3531370.htmlFri, 30 Sep 2016 00:58:38 -0400Asiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)US Indicates More Chinese Firms Could Be Probed for Breaching DPRK SanctionsMore Chinese companies and individuals could face investigation for suspected violations of sanctions on North Korea’s nuclear proliferation, a senior U.S. official indicated Wednesday.
Days after Monday's announcement that four Chinese individuals and a Chinese company face criminal charges and sanctions for their alleged support of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the State Department’s coordinator for sanctions policy told U.S. lawmakers he would not argue with suggestions that the probe could widen.
“It would also be useful if Chinese banks and companies understood that increasingly dealing with North Korean companies, especially those that are sanctioned, is going to be risky and frankly not worthy,” Daniel Fried told a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Wednesday, describing the problem as “the heart of the matter.”
Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Developmental Company Limited, as well as its chairwoman Ma Xiaohong and three top executives, were charged Monday with conspiring to evade sanctions against North Korea, including by facilitating money laundering through U.S. financial institutions.
Another senior State Department official said Washington is not “fully satisfied” with Beijing’s North Korea sanctions implementation.
“There is much more that we believe China can and should do,” said Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel when testifying at the Senate subcommittee hearing.
Russel added that President Barack Obama has raised with Chinese leaders practical ways that China can enhance the effectiveness of sanctions, including strengthening border controls and limiting access to North Korean banks.
Pyongyang changes tactics
North Korea for years has been under extremely tight international sanctions, which have largely halted North Korean trade with countries other than China. But new research says Pyongyang's state-run trading companies have adapted and are evading international sanctions by hiring more capable Chinese middlemen.
These contacts help Pyongyang access Chinese supplies and foreign firms located in China, which has actually improved the North's ability to procure banned equipment according to researchers from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.)
In a report titled “Stopping North Korea, Inc.: Sanctions Effectiveness and Unintended Consequences,” Harvard University faculty member John Park and M.I.T. researcher Jim Walsh said North Korean firms have increased use of embassies as vehicles for procurement of banned materials. Another tactic is expanding the use of Hong Kong and commercial hubs in Southeast Asia for procurement.
In Beijing this week, China voiced strong opposition to Monday's sanctions, characterizing them as legal overreach by Washington.
“If any country tries to exercise long-arm jurisdiction by enforcing its domestic laws over China's enterprises and individuals, we are firmly opposed to that,” said Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geng Shuang on Tuesday.
The Dandong-based Hongxiang Company was also under investigation by Chinese authorities for its connection with Kwangson Banking Corporation, a North Korean bank suspected of financing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Kwangson Banking Corporation was previously designated by the United States and United Nations for providing financial services in support of North Korea’s weapons proliferation.
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-probes-nore-chinese-firms-breaching-dprk-sanctions/3528961.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-probes-nore-chinese-firms-breaching-dprk-sanctions/3528961.htmlWed, 28 Sep 2016 14:45:39 -0400USAAsiaEconomywebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)Chinese Company Charged with Facilitating North Korea Money LaunderingThe United States has announced criminal charges and economic sanctions against a Chinese company for alleged support of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Developmental Company Limited (DHID), as well as its chairwoman Ma Xiaohong and three top executives, were charged with conspiring to evade sanctions against North Korea, including by facilitating money laundering through U.S. financial institutions.
DHID also is under investigation by Chinese authorities for its connection with Kwangson Banking Corporation, a North Korean bank suspected of financing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. Ma Xiaohong was detained by Chinese authorities last month.
“This shows we can work cooperatively with China; we both see it in our interests to apply greater pressure on North Korea,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner on Monday.
Toner added it’s necessary to take actions to “maintain the integrity of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and by the United States” when North Korea continues to disregard international obligations.
Kwangson Banking Corporation was previously designated by the U.S. and United Nations for providing financial services in support of North Korea’s weapons proliferation.
In a coordinated move, the Justice Department charged Dandong Hongxiang employees with using dozens of fake businesses and bank accounts to evade U.S. sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and weapons program. At the same time, the Treasury Department froze the assets of the company and its employees, including 25 bank accounts and 21 alleged front companies.
“The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
Last week, Chinese authorities said they were investigating Hongxiang, based in Dandong, a northeastern city on the North Korean border. Police and China's foreign ministry said the company was suspected of unspecified "serious economic crimes.'' That was an unusually explicit announcement for Beijing, whose dealings with the North are shrouded in secrecy.
China signed on in March to the stiffest U.N. sanctions yet that limit trade with the North. It has tightened controls on cross-border flows of goods, but that hasn't allayed suspicions that North Korea still can conduct illicit business through China. U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibit nuclear weapons development by the North and all ballistic missile activity.
“We have been earnestly and faithfully implementing Security Council resolutions related to North Korea in their entirety and fulfilling our international obligations in non-proliferation export controls,” said spokesperson Geng Shuang on Monday.
International concern about Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs is deepening following its fifth and largest atomic test this month, its second this year. That's fueling worries that North Korea is moving closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland.
A defiant North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho defended Pyongyang’s ballistic and nuclear programs, questioning the legitimacy of the United Nations Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions against North Korea.
“The United States has no more qualifications to force U.N. member states to implement this undeserved resolution while the member states have no moral obligation to implement this unfair and unjust resolution,” said Ri in New York last week.
http://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-compalny-charged-with-facilitating-north-korea-money-laundering/3525977.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-compalny-charged-with-facilitating-north-korea-money-laundering/3525977.htmlMon, 26 Sep 2016 17:38:24 -0400AsiaEconomywebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)US Supports Taiwan's Participation in International Civil Aviation OrganizationThe United States remains committed to supporting Taiwan's bid to take part in an international aviation organization, which could raise tensions with China.
"In keeping with our one-China policy, we support Taiwan's membership in international organizations that do not require statehood. In organizations that require statehood for membership, the United States supports Taiwan's meaningful participation," State Department East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau spokesperson Grace Choi said Thursday.
Delegates and observers from about 200 countries and international organizations will meet next week to discuss aviation safety issues at a gathering of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada.
Taiwan is not officially recognized as a country by the United Nations because of longstanding objections from China. Beijing routinely tries to block Taiwan's attempts to join international organizations, believing that such actions could build support for its aspirations as a state. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China.
The U.S. State Department said aviation safety, security and efficiency are matters of global importance, and all interested stakeholders can play a positive role in ensuring those standards.
Lawmakers voice support
ICAO was established in 1944 with a mission to set international standards for air navigation safety and to improve global air transport. China and the U.S. are members.
Some U.S. lawmakers had voiced strong support for Taiwan's participation in ICAO.
"As East Asia's busiest airspace, it is without question that Taiwan should have access to the latest technologies and standards in civil aviation safety. It is in the best interest of public safety," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, a Republican from California, in a recent statement.
Congressman Royce and Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sponsored legislation three years ago that "directs the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan" at the ICAO Assembly.
That legislation became public law in 2013.
Complaints from China
Taiwanese officials said Taipei has not received the invitation from ICAO.
Analysts said it represents another form of pressure that China is trying to exert on Taiwan's public and democratically-elected leaders.
While Washington has welcomed Taipei's "meaningful participation" in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement, that support is drawing complaints from Beijing.
Chinese officials said the precondition for Taiwan's participation in international organizations is to "recognize one China principle."
"It certainly hurts the perception of some Taiwan people about China. It will be a delicate decision for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen," said Richard Bush, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.
"As far as the bigger picture is concerned, what is needed now is an incremental and reciprocal process of trust-building in which both sides make efforts and avoid moves that undermine trust," Bush told VOA on Thursday.
‘Responsible global citizen’
Li Kexin, Chinese minister to the U.S., was quoted by media at an Embassy event earlier in September as saying "we really care about the fortunes of the Taiwanese people." He said Beijing had "opened several channels to let the Taiwanese people be made aware of information that they should have in order to protect their interests."
State Department Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary Kurt Tong said Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization has "helped make the world a safer place."
"Taiwan is a responsible global citizen whose capabilities can have a major impact on the region," said Tong in a Washington event in March. "Even when Taiwan is barred from international organizations, it often voluntarily adheres to international laws and standards. The United States seeks to support Taiwan's membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement."
Taiwan is responsible for the airspace known as Taipei Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR), which covers 180,000 square nautical miles and provides services for nearly 1.53 million controlled flights carrying 58 million travelers annually.
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-support-taiwan-international-civil-aviation-organization/3521369.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-support-taiwan-international-civil-aviation-organization/3521369.htmlThu, 22 Sep 2016 18:20:30 -0400USAAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/us-support-taiwan-international-civil-aviation-organization/3521369.html#relatedInfoContainerWashington Decries Latest Attacks in KabulThe United States on Tuesday condemned “in the strongest terms” the latest series of deadly attacks in Kabul that killed and wounded dozens of security personnel and civilians, and it sought to reassure Afghanistan that it would work with Kabul for “a more secure, stable and prosperous” nation.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for those attacks.
“[Monday's] terrible attacks showed we still have to work to go after those entities on the ground, Taliban and others, and rule them out if they are going to continue to carry out those kinds of attacks,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Toner added that the U.S. would continue discussions with both Afghanistan and Pakistan to root out terrorists operating on the soil of both nations.
“The ultimate goal is we want to see peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Monday's series of attacks began with a twin suicide bombing in a busy area of Kabul, followed by a car bomb a few hours later in an area close to government offices and diplomatic compounds. After that, three gunmen holed themselves up close to a government complex near the office of a charitable organization, Care International. An Afghan official said security forces killed all three gunmen to end an hours-long overnight siege. The Care offices were damaged extensively.
Condemning the attacks as acts against “religion, human faith and humanity,” Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said Kabul was fighting a war “against terrorists who are trained, advised, supported and instructed in our neighborhood," a veiled reference to neighboring Pakistan.
The Afghan government has long accused Pakistan, particularly its military institutions, of covertly supporting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Pakistan rejects the accusations.
But Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a public policy research group in Washington, said any friction between Afghanistan and Pakistan “should not be an excuse by Kabul not to focus on improving politics and [good] governance.”
In a Brookings forum on U.S. policy toward Afghanistan on Tuesday, Felbab-Brown said Washington should engage both militarily and politically with Kabul, adding that the challenges facing Afghanistan are more about the evolution of the political process.
http://www.voanews.com/a/washington-decries-latest-attacks-kabul/3496357.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/washington-decries-latest-attacks-kabul/3496357.htmlTue, 06 Sep 2016 18:48:17 -0400USAAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/washington-decries-latest-attacks-kabul/3496357.html#relatedInfoContainerGabon Streets Deserted, Tensions High After Election ProtestsProtesters in Gabon's capital city carried out widespread looting Friday, continuing the unrest that followed Wednesday's announcement that incumbent President Ali Bongo had narrowly defeated his challenger in a nationwide vote.
VOA reporter Idriss Fall in Libreville said unrest began in the neighborhood of Charbonnage and spread outward. He said most of the protesters are young men in their 20s, but it was unclear whether people who have taken to the streets are making a political statement or simply taking advantage of the situation.
"People should remember that whenever you have a political crisis, people would go outside and begin looting whatever is out there. So, to be honest, I can’t say that all the people going outside the streets are with [opposition leader Jean] Ping or not with Ping or have another purpose."
Fall also reported that the city hall in Gabon’s second largest city and major seaport, Port-Gentil, was burned down. He spoke to 26 leaders of the opposition who said that the number of people killed has reached 17 but said it is difficult to independently confirm that total. The nation’s interior ministry reports that only three people have been killed.
Over 1,000 arrests
The unrest began Wednesday following official results that show Bongo with 49.8 percent of the vote and challenger Ping with 48.2 percent.
Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya says more than 1,000 people have been arrested nationwide, including as many as 800 in the capital. He confirmed three deaths in the violence.
Buildings throughout downtown Libreville, including the National Assembly, were set ablaze Thursday. There were also attempts to set fire to City Hall, the broadcasting house, a state newspaper’s headquarters and various residences, according to an interior ministry statement that accuses opposition supporters of planning the attacks ahead of time.
In Washington, the State Department urged all sides to come together peacefully to avoid future unrest. It said “appropriate actions” may be considered going forward.
"We deplore the escalation of violence following the release of those … provisional election results by the government," spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. "We call upon the security forces to respect the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all Gabonese citizens and of all residents of Gabon."
Security warning
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Libreville issued a security message advising American citizens of "widespread, violent demonstrations, rioting and looting" in the capital and urging them to remain in safe locations.
"Security forces have responded to the situation with tear gas and have placed roadblocks at major arterial roads, cutting off transportation across the city. There is also debris and burned cars blocking the roads in some areas," according to the security message.
Ping is disputing the results showing he lost by about 5,000 votes. He said his campaign has evidence of election rigging, which he plans to present to Gabon's constitutional court.
At issue are the results from one province, where the results show nearly 100 percent voter turnout, with Bongo receiving 95 percent of the vote.
Some members of the electoral commission resigned as the results were announced Wednesday.
While not commenting whether Washington would ask for a recount, the State Department called on the Gabonese government to release results for each individual polling station.
The State Department said those provisional results still need to be certified by Gabon’s constitutional court.
"We are asking that the legal procedures for certification of the results be followed according to Gabonese law in a fair and transparent manner,” said Kirby.
UN calls for calm
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for Gabon to remain peaceful after the hotly contested poll.
"The secretary-general urges all concerned political leaders and their supporters to refrain from further acts that could undermine the peace and stability of the country," his spokesman said in a statement. "He also calls on the authorities to ensure that the national security forces exercise maximum restraint in their response to protests."
Government conducted raids
A government spokesman said security forces raided the opposition building in search of people who had set fires near the parliament building earlier in the night.
"Armed people who set fire to the parliament had gathered at Jean Ping's headquarters along with hundreds of looters and thugs. ... They were not political protesters but criminals," Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze told the French news agency AFP.
The U.S. embassy called for all individual polling station results to be published, after it said observers witnessed "many systemic flaws and irregularities" in the voting. The irregularities included polling stations opening late and "last-minute changes to voting procedures."
Both candidates declared victory after Saturday's vote, and each side accused the other of fraud during the vote count.
Gabon does not have a run-off system, so the candidate with the most votes in the 10-candidate field wins the election.
Ping was running to end a half-century of Bongo family rule. Ali Bongo succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who died in 2009 after 42 years in office.
Esha Sarai and VOA Afrique contributed to this report.
http://www.voanews.com/a/gabon-capital-quiets-down-after-post-election-riots/3491035.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/gabon-capital-quiets-down-after-post-election-riots/3491035.htmlFri, 02 Sep 2016 08:46:34 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching, Idrissa Fall, Salem Solomon)Father Figures Volunteer as Role Models in US SchoolsWhile violent extremism continues to pose a rising threat to religious freedom, the State Department's 2015 International Religious Freedom Report points to laws on blasphemy and apostasy as a major global concern. VOA State Department correspondent Nike Ching has the story.http://www.voanews.com/a/father-figures-volunteer-role-models-us-schools/3462255.html
http://www.voanews.com/a/father-figures-volunteer-role-models-us-schools/3462255.htmlFri, 12 Aug 2016 15:23:00 -0400Middle EastUSAwebdesk@voanews.com (Nike Ching)http://www.voanews.com/a/father-figures-volunteer-role-models-us-schools/3462255.html#relatedInfoContainer